In This Town
by pyrofreeze
Summary: A Collection of Harvest Moon stories. Chapter 7, The Way To a Man’s Heart: In which Muffy falls for “the cute new farmer”, and employs the help of said farmer’s best friend to nab a date with the guy...but of course, things don't go according to plan...
1. A Touch of Femininity

_A Touch of Femininity_

Summary: Nami sighed, "You are _such _a girl Rock."

A/N: This story was born while I was playing Harvest Moon DS, when I discovered some of Rock's favorite gifts included such things as dresses, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, broaches, and facial packs.

* * *

Nami wondered if perhaps she had somehow stepped into an alternate universe where nothing was exactly as it should be, and where nothing quite made sense, because the scene before her most _certainly _didn't make sense. At the moment, Nami was debating between just leaving the room right then and there so that she could attempt to wipe the image from her mind, or actually staying to try and figure out if what she was seeing wasn't just her mind playing tricks on her.

"U-Uh Nami!" Rock stuttered, his face flushing brightly, "I-er… this isn't what it looks like!" He exclaimed, waving his hands frantically, and his eyes darting every which way, as if trying to find some sort of excuse give to the redhead to justify the thing that was hanging around his neck.

"Rock…" Nami started slowly, eyeing the boy carefully, "Is that… a necklace?"

"Er…" Rock looked as though he would die of embarrassment at any moment, "I well—NO, I mean, it IS, but it isn't… what I mean to say…"

Nami had a hard time not simply bursting out in laughter at Rock's obviously flustered actions at this point, but to keep up appearances, the redhead refrained from indulging herself in laughter. "Look Rock," she began, the edges of her lips twitching ever so slightly from holding in the giggles that were just dying to burst out, "I don't really _care_ that you like wearing feminine jewelry articles. I'll just leave you to it…" barely containing her amusement at this point, Nami turned to leave, but Rock stopped her.

"Nami! No, wait! You don't understand! I don't like j-jewelry! This is just, er… a gift fro—er, I mean, FOR my mother! Yeah, and I was just checking to see if it might uh, _look _nice or something…" Rock ended lamely, looking desperate at this point to prove his own manhood, "I-I… I _don't _like jewelry; really!" He exclaimed, sounding as if he were trying to convince himself of the fact as much as he was trying to convince Nami.

Nami sighed, "You are _such _a girl Rock." She muttered, shaking her head, "and I really, really _don't _care that you like wearing necklaces, and god knows what other feminine things. I can't understand _how _you can like the stuff, but you're entitled to it."

"B-but, _you're _a girl! Don't you like such things?"

"_NO_." she told him firmly, looking away, "Jewelry is so… _girly_."

"You're such a boy Nami!" Rock exclaimed, pointing a finger dramatically at Nami, as if he were accusing her of some atrocious crime, "Girls are suppose to _like _jewelry!"

"And boys are suppose to _hate _it!" Nami shot back, smirking when Rock adopted a look that was reminiscent of one that you would wear after having been punched in the gut.

"Well… Your still boyish!" He shouted back lamely,

"That's alright." Nami replied mysteriously, "Because you're girlish enough for the both of us." And with that, Nami finally left the room, leaving a stunned Rock behind.

"H-hey, wait! We're not through arguing about this yet!" Rock shouted from his doorway while stamping his foot as she walked away.

Nami smiled slightly despite herself and shrugged; Rock really _was _such a girl, but in the end, she didn't really mind. After all, most guys could _use_ a touch of femininity so as to make them a bit more sensitive, and understanding boyfriends and husbands. Anyway, if anything, the whole experience had been a bit eye-opening, and highly amusing, and besides… she knew _exactly _what she would get Rock for his birthday now.

* * *

A/N: It's simply _amazing _how much writing you get done when you're procrastinating studying for your exams.

And just as a final note, reviews are _always_ loved and appreciated. ;)

**-pyrofreeze**


	2. Quest for the Blue Feather

_Quest for the Blue Feather_

Summary: Jill contemplates her marriage choices: "I Have to do WHAT?!" Jill exclaimed in disbelief, "You people must be mad!"

A/N: I'm honestly rather surprised with myself; I've been writing a great deal of humor stories ever since my school's exam period started… I usually have a tendency to write purely serious stories…

I started to write this when I recalled that I never actually got married in my Magical Melody game, and that I haven't touched the game for quite some time, because I had about 6 potential husband characters lined up at my door, and I felt horrible and just couldn't choose between them. Also, as another note, no, my Harvest Moon Character isn't named "Jill". I just tend to use that as a generic fill in name in my Harvest Moon stories. :)

* * *

"Well, its come to my attention that you're about ready to settle down Jill!" the mayor exclaimed, boisterously clapping the young farmer girl on the shoulder. 

"Ehhhh… Sure." Was the unsure reply. How had the _Mayor _know about her suitors? Was he stalking her or something? Well, in any case, Jill wasn't sure at _all _that she was ready for such a commitment as marriage. After all, she hadn't even been in the little town an full _year_, and people were already bugging her about marriage? Sheesh! These people sure did rush things…

"Yes, yes, that's very good." The mayor told her joyfully, his arm still not having moved from her shoulder, annoying Jill to know end, "In any case, it has come to my attention that a bluebird has been spotted on the top of the mountain!"

Jill quirked an eyebrow, "…So?" she asked, causing the Mayor to look at her with such surprise that it took her off guard for a moment.

"SO?!" he exclaimed, "SO?! A blue bird means a blue feather," He told her matter-of-factly, "and here in Flower Bud, giving a blue feather to someone we care about is our way of proposing." Jill started coughing rather violently at this, but obviously only to cover up the laughter that threatened to bubble up.

"You propose with a _feather _here?!" She asked incredulously, shaking her head, "But you can't wear a _feather _around your finger! Plus it sounds like a sort of cheap alternative to a ring. Isn't it well… lame? I mean, you can just pluck a feather from some bird and then its done!"

"It isn't as simple as that!" the mayor explained, "After all, it _must _be a _blue _feather from a _blue _bird that tends to only live in high places, namely, our town's little mountain…so to _get _the feather, you have to climb to the to the top of-"

"I Have to do WHAT?!" Jill exclaimed in disbelief, "You people must be mad! It could be nearly _suicidal _to endeavor in scaling that moutain! Plus, aren't there a great number of rock slides on that mountain?"

"But of course!" Mayor Theodore told he cheerfully, causing Jill to look utterly gobsmacked.

"But that's _dangerous_!"

"Of course it is!" Theodore replied, looking slightly offended by Jill's outburst, "If it weren't _dangerous_, it wouldn't mean anything, now would it? Now get up that mountain and get that feather!"

* * *

"I _can not _believe I'm doing this." Jill grumbled nearly an hour later as she lifted her foot in an attempt to find another foot hold on the cliff side that would lead her to the blue bird's nest. After a great deal of prodding and insisting, Jill had finally consented to the Mayor's wish, and had gone to go and retrieve the feather from the mountaintop. 

"Whoa!" she exclaimed, shifting over to the side quickly to avoid being hit by a falling bolder, "_What_ am I doing here? This is suicidal!" she muttered, reaching her hand out up high above her head for the next piece of rock that looked sturdy enough to hold her, "And really, what am I going to do with that blue feather anyway…?" Jill paused in her ascent at this thought; whom was this blue feather going to be for anyway? Which bachelor of Flower Bud Village was for _her _anyway?

_'What about Joe?_' a voice in her head that sounded too much like the Mayor for her liking, asked,_ 'He's such a nice boy, and he does like you!'_

"Joe?" she chuckled, "He's sweet, really he is, but… he's honestly just so _cheery _all the time, and while its good to be happy, to be THAT happy ALL the time…?"

_'Well, how about Kurt?'_

"He's the exact opposite!" she hissed, shifting to the left a bit on the mountainside to avoid another falling boulder, "He's _always _so cold and anti-social! Both Joe and Kurt are two extremes on the spectrum, and I just don't think I'd be able to handle it for long…"

_'How about Alex? He's always worrying after you…'_

"That's just it," Jill fumed, "he's _always _worrying about me! That's _all_ he does! It's sweet that he's worried about me, but… _all the time_?"

_'Fine; how about Ray?'_

"The girl-phobic fish lover? He's just so awkward all the time, and he always blushes and heads the other way when I head towards him… plus, I don't like fish _that _much!"

_'Well, how about Basil then?'_

"Same thing with him; I don't like plants enough to live with a plant fanatic."

_'What about Louis?'_

"Haven't you been listening? He's another one of those obsessive guys; the only thing different is that he obsesses over _machinery _rather then fish or plants."

_'…Dan?' _the voice questioned, starting to sound slightly exasperated.

"You'd have me marry that _flirt_? He loves gamboling, alcohol, and woman; does that sound like a man that is willing to settle down and make a commitment?" Jill grumbled, starting to grow annoyed herself.

_'CARL?'_

"No-"

_'What's wrong with Carl?' _the voice asked, _'He's nice. What fault could you find in Carl?'_

"Well, yes, I _know _he's nice, but that's just it! He's really sweet and kind, and I love him, I really do… but in a little brother sort of way, you know? He just looks so _young_…"

_'How about Blue? Or Bob? Surely one of them!'_

"Blue and Bob?" Jill made a face, "Blue reminds me of Kurt: too anti-social, and Bob… well, he's a bit overwhelming, and Tim calls me "big sister" as if we were related, so it would be a bit… awkward to say the least."

_'Jamie!" _the voice exclaimed as a last resort, _'He's the only one left!'_

"_JAMIE_?!" Jill retorted, "I think he'd rather marry his _cow _then marry me! Plus… I'm not entirely sure he's a _he_…"

_'So why are you climbing this mountain?' _the voice asked helplessly.

"Yes…" Jill mused, starting to climb down the mountain, "Why indeed…"

* * *

The next morning when Jamie decided to be a nice guy for once, and say a simple gruff "Hello" to his farming rival, he was at a loss as to why the girl responded by exclaiming, "You're all crazy, the lot of you! You'll never take me alive! I'm going to be _single_ for the rest of my life!" before running away. 

Jamie shook his head and muttered something about "women being crazy" under his breath as he continued to tend to his crops.

* * *

A/N: Just for the record, I really do love all the HM guys…but due to their different eccentricities, they are rather fun to poke fun at on occasion though. :) 

And as always, I simply_ adore _getting reviews, and they really _do _help motivate me to write. Till next time!

**-pyrofreeze**


	3. The Great Gender Quest

_The Great Gender Quest_

Summary: "I think he's a guy." "What?! Jamie's too pretty to be a boy! _She's _most defiantly a girl!"

A/N: Hooray! Exams are over, and I can finally sit back and relax for a minute…

Well, here's another Magical Melody story; This time it features everyone's favorite gender-switching farmer, Jamie. This story, or something similar to this story, has been begging me to write it ever since I found out that Jamie's gender changes depending on whether you choose for the farmer to be male or female. I'm think the other two HM storie I wrote turned out better then this one, but... I hope you like it anyway. :)

* * *

"I think he's a guy."

"What?! Jamie's too pretty to be a boy! _She's _most defiantly a girl!"

"No way; Jamie's attitude is too masculine for him to be a _women_."

"But that _hair_…"

"Hey guys, what're you talking about?"

Gwen and Joe immediately paused in their conversation, and turned to greet Jill, the new farmer who had come to town recently.

"Hey Jill," Gwen greeted pleasantly, "It's nothing really; Joe and me were just having a bit of a debate."

"Over what?" Jill asked, cocking her head to the side ever so slightly, "You two seemed to be getting really flustered over it earlier…"

"Well, we were just trying to figure out what Jamie's gender is." She admitted hesitantly, feeling just a bit embarrassed, "I think Jamie's a guy, and Joe thinks he's a she."

"But Jamie's just _got_ to be a girl!" Joe insisted, "It just wouldn't make _sense_ if Jamie was a boy!"

"Says you." Gwen shot back, "I still maintain that Jamie is most _definitely _a guy."

"Why don't you just ask Jamie?" Jill questioned, "He-er…she…he… Oh bother- JAMIE might just clear this up for all us for us if we were only to just _ask_."

"Are you _kidding_?" Joe hissed, "You can't just _ask _her!" At this, Gwen coughed and murmured a soft _"him"_ before Joe continued, "Anyway, I don't think she would tell us. She'd just probably glare like she usually does…"

"And besides, he might be offended that we can't _tell _what gender he is right away." Gwen added with a nod of her head, "_I _would be offended if someone came up to me and had to ask _my _gender!"

"But that poncho she wears makes it impossible to figure _out_ what gender she is," Joe reasoned, "Surely she knows that!"

"That's it!" Jill suddenly exclaimed, causing both Gwen and Joe to jump, "We just have to get that poncho off of Jamie, and we can see if we can tell what Jamie's gender is from that!"

"But how?" Gwen questioned, "We can't exactly just _steal_ it."

"We'll go at night!" Joe recommended suddenly, "Surely she takes it off at night!"

So it was decided; just after sunset, the three friends met right outside of Jamie's house, and set about putting their plans into motion.

"Is everything ready?" Jill asked nervously in hushed tones, while casting nervous glances over at Jamie's house every few seconds.

"Of course!" Joe assured her, "We're all set to go; all we need to do now is wait for Jamie to turn in for the night which should be happening right about…"

"Now." Gwen finished, observing Jamie exit his (or her) farm, and enter his (or her) house, "Come on, let's go."

The three snuck onto Jamie's property, and skillfully made there way to his (or her) window silently…

"Hey, couldn't we come up with a better plan then _this_?" Jill asked, "Surely we could do better then peeping in on Jamie via the window!"

"Shhh!" Gwen hissed, "Look! He's getting ready for bed now!"

The three watched with rapt attention as Jamie reached towards his (or her) poncho and slowly, brought his (or her) hands to the bottom of the fabric and…

…Straightened the poncho out before kicking of his (or her) shoes and hopping right into bed. And for a moment, all was silent.

"WHAT?!" Gwen screeched, "He even wears that infernal thing to _bed_?!"

"Quiet!" Joe and Jill exclaimed, trying to warn Gwen against being too loud, but their warning was too late.

"What in the _world _are you doing on _my _property, peeking in on me through _my _window?" Jamie demanded, throwing open the window, and giving the three Flowerbud residence a very cold glare.

"We were… uh… admiring your windowpane?" Joe tried, giving Jamie one of his brightest smiles, "I mean, er, they're just so _nice _you know…" However, despite Joe's rather pathetic attempt at a cover up, Jamie continued glaring, and actually began to tap his/her foot impatiently. "Oh fine!" Joe finally cried, giving up, "We were trying to figure out if you were a girl or a guy!"

Gwen and Jill slowly backed away from Joe, "Run on three?" Jill questioned.

"You betcha." Gwen whispered back, flinching at the murderous aura Jamie had started exuding.

Jamie's right eye twitched ever so slightly as he/she continued glaring pointedly at Joe, who was regretting opening his mouth at all. "Get. _Off_. My. Property!" He/She screeched, looking as though he/she was just about ready to kill them all right there. Forgetting completely about their "countdown" system, Jill and Gwen just simply took off, and were quickly followed by Joe who was yelling "wait for me!" after them.

"So, what have we learned today?" Jill asked, casting a nervous glance over her shoulder to see if Jamie was pursuing.

"To stay off Jamie's property, and to never get him mad!" Gwen replied, not slowing down for a second.

"Don't you mean "her"?" Joe questioned, finally catching up to them, "Do you think it's safe to stop now?"

All three cast a nervous glance over their shoulders to see a raging Jamie chasing after them with a pitchfork in hand. Gwen and Jill shared a look. "No." they replied simultaneously, continuing to run, and hoping with all their hearts that Jamie would tire before the night was through…but unfortunately, the night was still young, and in the end, their quest had been for naught. And so they ran…

What's Jamie's gender? The world may never know…

* * *

A/N: Disclaimer- Just so you know, Jill, Gwen, and Joe are all assuming that Jamie has a shirt or something on underneath his/her poncho, and no, they aren't trying to catch Jamie naked or anything. :P


	4. Just a Friendly Feeling

_Just a Friendly Feeling_

Summary: When he had hired her to work at his café, if he had known just what he was getting into, he just might have reconsidered _hiring_ her…

Pairing: Carl/Katie

A/N: Truthfully, I haven't made many attempts before to write romance, and quite frankly, I don't think I've mastered the art of this particular branch of writing…but I'm working on it, and I'm actually fairly pleased how this story came out. And as for the pairing, well… for me, while I can see why Ellen and Carl are pared up in Magical Melody, I really can see appeal in having Carl and Katie paired up… and not to mention the fact that Ellen isn't exactly my favorite character…(she's bit too goody-goody if you ask me) Anyway, enjoy :)

Edit: I've changed the summary, and the title because I wasn't pleased with them :)

* * *

Katie was the most hotheaded, pushy girl Carl had ever had the pleasure of meeting. When he had hired her to work at his café, if he had known just what he was getting into, he just might have reconsidered _hiring_ her… but it was far to late to be thinking about _that_. He _had_ hired her, and now he was stuck with her. Carl was too nice to fire her, and besides, he was almost positive—considering Katie's stubbornness—that even if he _did _"let her go" (to put it kindly), he doubted she would actually _leave_. She'd probably continue with business as usual, ignoring the fact that she was supposedly fired, and just wait it out until Carl gave up and hired her once more. 

Carl sighed; Katie could be such a headache at times, but truly, he was thankful for her help. Alone, Carl wouldn't have been able to run the Calloway Café nearly as efficiently as he did now. With Katie around, it took a bit of the burden off his shoulders so he had time to experiment with new dishes, and to just simply _relax_. So all in all, having Katie around wasn't _too_ bad for the most part. Most of the time, Carl really did appreciate Katie's presence, but sometimes, Katie was just more trouble then she was worth… like right now for instance.

"Oh yeah? Want to take it outside blondie?!"

"Blondie?! O.k., that's it…!"

Carl sighed; it was times like this that made him _really _wish that he had chosen a nice, quiet girl for a waitress at his café.

"Let me at her! Let go of me Joe! I've got to teach that bimbo a lesson!" Katie roared, flailing wildly as Joe held onto Katie firmly to prevent the girl from damaging Gwen, who was just as enraged as Katie, and behind held back by Bob.

"Let her come Joe!" Gwen hissed, egging Katie on, "I've got a lesson or two to teach her too. Come on Bob, just let me go…"

Carl groaned; he just _knew _this wouldn't end well, and he had _just _finished cleaning, so he would _not _put up with having a catfight in his café. "Bob, bring Gwen home, would you?" Carl asked quietly, receiving a nod from the blacksmith's grandson before he dragged the struggling blonde out of the café. Carl then turned to Joe and gave the carpentering boy a small smile. "Its o.k. Joe; you can let her go now."

With a hesitant nod, Joe released Katie. At once, the girl made for the door, but Carl's voice made her stop, "Please don't Katie." He begged, "I don't want you to go fight her. Do you even remember what she did that made you so mad?"

"Of course I do!" Katie snapped, "What do you take me for?"

Both boys in the room simply sad nothing until Joe nervously told the two that he should "probably be heading home", because "Woody would be wondering where he was" before he made a quick exit. Now alone, Carl sighed, and guided Katie over to a chair, and sat down across from her before asking, "Well?"

"Well what?" she replied hotly, obviously still lingering on her argument with Gwen.

"What did Gwen do that got you so mad?" he asked, already having the inkling of an idea in mind.

"She said-!" Katie paused, blinking, and then bit her lip in concentration as if thinking, "Well, she… she said… she-she…" Katie trailed off lamely, gazing at the wall embarrassedly, "I-I… I can't remember." She admitted, her cheeks flushing in humiliation.

In spite of himself, Carl smiled slightly; it was just as he had thought. Katie was just so predictable: stubborn, brash, hotheaded, and always one to rush head first into everything without thought. She was a woman who took action; it was so different from his "think before you act" frame of mind, but sometimes, her confidence was strangely comforting, and helpful. Carl himself wasn't a confident, social person, and as a business owner, self-assurance, and sociability were two key factors one had to have mastery of… but with Katie around, he didn't need those qualities at all; she was confident, and social enough for the both of them. And so Carl had to admit that Katie was a key player in the success of Calloway Café so far.

As Katie muttered embarrassed apologies, Carl mused that though Katie had her down points, and while sometimes, yes, she really _was _a handful, overall, he wouldn't trade her company and help for anything in the world.

* * *

_"Is it really Fall again?" _Carl mused, _"Have I truly know Katie for a year?"_

Indeed, the trees once more were preparing themselves for winter, and their leaves were changing from their usual green to reds, oranges, and yellows. It was weird, Carl thought, to think that Katie had only been in his life for one year; it felt so much longer then that. Was it truly possible for so much to have been crammed into one single year? Carl thought back to his first full year with Katie and shook his head.

It had only been one year, but so much had happened: New businesses had moved in, new faces had appeared in the valley, old shops had expanded, new friendships were made, his own business flourished, and the new farmer girl in the valley (Jill was her name) had gotten Jamie—a man more anti-social then anyone Carl had ever met—to open up a little more to those around him for one; in fact, when Ellen had come in the other day, she had told him that their was a rumor going around that the two might get married.

Carl gulped: marriage. It was a weird train of thought for him; it was something he thought of very little, because he just couldn't see himself married to _anyone_. After all, he was too quiet, too sweet, too agreeable, and he looked like a little kid almost with his young, immature face. Girls in the valley seemed to go for the "cool" type, and he most certainly wasn't _cool_. Many a time Carl would listen to Ellen, Gwen, or Nina chatter on about what local guys with only slight interest; after all, he _knew_ that they weren't talking about him, seeing as he didn't really have any of the traits girls looked for in a guy. So why listen to them giggle over Dan or Kurt, or Bob, or whoever had caught their eye that particular week? But when Katie gossiped with the others, he couldn't help but listen in; he wondered sometimes what _her _idea of an ideal guy was, and often felt almost… _disappointed _when her particular interests coincided with all the other girls. It was weird, because whenever he heard Gwen babble on about just how _gorgeous_ Dan's eyes were, he didn't feel his chest tighten as it did when Katie reiterated the very same point. Carl didn't understand, and a part of him told him that it was best that he didn't. He told himself not to worry about it, because that constriction in his stomach most certainly _wasn't _jealously; he was merely protective of Katie because she was a valuable co-worker, and friend.

Yes, friends; that's what they were. That was what one year together had made them. It had been inevitable really, considering they spent nearly every hour of every day with each other. Over time, they had come to an understanding of the other's personality, and grown used to the eccentricities of the each other, and had in fact picked up a few of the other's habits. Carl had grown accustomed to Katie's presence, and to her oddities, mindless babble, and to her usual mood-swings. So all in all, it wasn't unusual that he be protective of Katie, because they were friends now, right? And wasn't it true that friends were protective of their friends? So the pang in his heart whenever Katie talked about the other boys in the valley was natural; it just _had _to be! He just wanted her to be happy, and he just wanted her to end up with a guy who would treat her right, and that was all…Right?

* * *

Carl hadn't been expecting anything for his birthday really; or nothing fancy anyway. Many of the town folks and regulars to the café brought in ingredients for food and gave him a bright smile and a sincere "Happy Birthday", but that was to be expected; many gave him presents simply out of formality, and friends gave him nice, useful gifts that were practical, but without a great deal of sentimental value. But Carl had expected that, and wasn't offended in the least. He had suspected to have a nice, quite, predictable birthday, and he was sure that he would pass the day simply going on with business as usual… 

…But Katie would have no such thing. She had vanished without a word in the early morning, and had shown up at noon, and had closed shop without his consent, shooed all the customers away, and had dragged him to the Blue Bar where he discovered that not only would she not allow him to have a normal, plain birthday, but that he simply _had _to have a party too; She insisted that it wouldn't be a proper birthday without one. And so knowing that Katie wouldn't give in unless she had her way, Carl gave in and let her have her way. In the end, even though he insisted that he would have been fine just spending his birthday working at the café, his smile was just a bit bigger that night, and his eyes were just a bit brighter…but that was because he was so honored that almost the entire town had shown up that evening at the bar to celebrate his birthday, and not because Katie had been by his side the entire night, dragging him this way and that to make sure he did all the necessary "birthday things" (such as eating cake, and playing every party game in the book). Yes, the reason he was so happy was because of the party, and most certainly _not_ because Katie had been holding his _hand_ the entire time while dragging him around the party; no, that hadn't been the reason at all…

…but nonetheless, Carl resolved that he would do something really special for Katie's birthday.

* * *

Carl truthfully had never in his life planned a party of any sort before, because he had never really _liked _them all that much; they were far too noisy and loud. But here he was, planning to _throw _a party, and he hadn't a clue as to what to do, so he did all he _could _do: he went to the experts. 

Eve and Duke had been quick to agree to help him decorate the café for the party, and had actually even promised to deal with inviting everyone in town and helping him keep it a secret from Katie; Ellen had even offered to keep Katie busy in the morning of the 29th of Fall to give them time to set up. Everyone was willing to lend a helping hand that all Carl had to worry about was preparing the food.

Carl had always been good at cooking, and he cooked for the café everyday…but for some reason, _this _was different; he was cooking something for Katie's _birthday_, and he wanted to make it extra special for some reason. And so he worked diligently on making the perfect cake for Katie as his present to her whenever the girl was out, and by the 29th, he had managed to pull it off; hoping she would like his gift, he decorated with Duke and Eve, and hoped for the best.

To say that Katie had been surprised was an understatement; she seemed utterly flabbergasted that _Carl _of all people had planned a surprise party for her…but she was nonetheless pleased; so pleased in fact, that she had run and pulled Carl into a rather choking embrace and babbling a long string of thank you's, before excitedly fussing over the gifts that everyone had brought her. Carl smiled at seeing Katie's bright smile as she opened yet another present, and chattered excitedly with Gwen and Ellen; he was glad that he party had made her so happy. All he wanted now was for her to like the present he had made her.

When Carl brought out the cake at long last however, he discovered that all his worrying had been unfounded, if the delighted look on the brunette's face was anything to judge by. Katie cut a huge chunk of the cake off, and happily took a bite. The girl closed her eyes and smiled, savoring the fruit of Carl's efforts before her eyes opened once more look at Carl. She flashed him a big smile and told him nonchalantly "good cooking was an attractive trait in a man," and that it was "always something a girl looked for in a potential husband." Carl felt his face heat up as he muttered a quiet "you're welcome" before Katie turned away towards the other party guests once more.

It was good to know that _he _had traits that girls found desirable… but he got the strangest feeling that he would have cared less if any other girl had told him that… for some reason, something inside of him insisted that the reason he was glad that cooking was a desirable trait for a potential husband to have, was not because _girls in general _thought so, but rather that _Katie _thought so.

Katie looked away from Gwen who she had been talking to flash Carl a bright smile, causing his heart to flutter wildly, and somehow… he could no longer attribute the tightness in his chest to being a simple friendly feeling any longer.

* * *

How come years seemed to fly by so quickly these days? How it been two years with Katie in his life already? How had winter, spring, and summer come and gone so quickly? Carl didn't know, but nonetheless, the year had come and gone already, and he found that autumn had come to the Valley once more, and so much had changed again… and marriage, this year, was a topic much closer to his heart, and to home then it had been a year before. 

Jill and Jamie, and Nina and Basil were married now, and Gwen and Bob were expecting a child. It was odd really, how in merely two years so much had changed. He had so many friends now, and he was more confident and social (even if only a little bit more so), and then there was the little matter of his feelings towards Katie…

Upon meeting her, he thought she was a bit odd, and most defiantly a hand full, and while those opinions of her hadn't changed, he had grown _used _to these traits, and had actually grown to _like _all the parts of her personality that most people might have considered to be less then desirable… but then again, he wasn't "most people". Over the past two years, he had grown so used to her company, and he could almost say for certain that maybe, just maybe he lov-…no, no, he couldn't let himself say it, even to himself, lest he let himself believe that his _feelings _would be returned. But Katie had never show much interest in him; well, in _that way _anyhow. Sure, she always fussed over him when he got sick, and gave him a fierce talking to when he worked himself too hard, had told him on several occasions that any girl would be crazy not to be interested in him, and had grown absolutely furious when Eve had called him "cute"…but that was all completely friendly attention, right? He couldn't let himself hope that it could be more.

"Hey Carl, I'm back!" Katie announced upon entering the café with a little bag in her hand, "Hey, do you think we could close shop today?"

"How come?" Carl asked curiously, "Has something happened?"

"No silly!" she giggled, "but today's the two year anniversary for our café, and we've got to celebrate!"

Carl smiled; he had ceased correcting her when it came to calling the café "theirs" long ago; after all, Katie had been such a key player in the success of the café from the start that the café really was_ theirs_ and not _his_. "Alright then." Carl agreed with a sigh, "we'll close shop, but what do you have in mind?" he asked, putting out the "sorry we're closed" sign.

"Oh, several things." Katie replied enigmatically, "but first things first; I've got you something." And with flourish, Katie pulled a rather unexpected present from the bag she had brought in that caused Carl nearly to faint away on the spot.

"Katie…" he started slowly, his face turning unbelievably red, "That's… a blue feather."

"Thanks for stating the obvious Sherlock." She drawled sarcastically, "So now that we know you're eyesight is o.k., aren't you going to say something?"

"…Blue feathers are for proposing marriage." Carl told her, his heart fluttering madly in his chest, not quite believing what was happening.

Katie sighed and shook her head muttering "_Men!_" with a sigh. "Yes Carl, I'm perfectly aware of the purpose of a blue feather, now come on and say "o.k. Katie, I'll marry you!" already you twit!"

Carl stared blankly at her.

"Oh _come on_, don't give me that look! Just take the stupid feather! Do you have any _idea _how much this silly little thing _costs_. I did _not _simply spend a ridiculous amount of money on something to have to _gape_ at me."

"…Are you…proposing to me?" Carl asked, unable to believe that this was all _real_.

"I believe we've already established that." Katie told him starting to sound as if she were getting inpatient, "Now would you just say "yes" already so we can get onto my plans?"

"Plans?" Carl asked blankly.

"Yes, plans!" she exclaimed, "I have a whole list of horribly sappy romantic things I want to do to celebrate the café's anniversary, and if you don't accept my proposal right now we won't get to _doing _any of them!"

At that moment, Carl was struck with the oddness of the scene, and how despite the fact that it was probably the most blunt marriage proposal he had ever heard, it was somehow _right _that things had played out how they did.

Marriage to Katie, Carl supposed, would probably be like his working relationship with her: she would be unpredictable, stubborn, argumentative, irritable, and sometimes, he might wonder why in the _world _he had let himself get involved with such a woman… but Katie didn't give up, and she wouldn't relent on the subject of marriage until he agreed, and besides… he had wanted this too anyway, so he did the only thing he could do.

He took that feather, and said _yes_.

"It's about time!" Katie huffed, "You're always stalling! Now, if we leave now we might be able to have a picnic," she explained, tugging him out of the café, her voice leaving no room for argument, "and then we'll steal the best spot in town to watch the sunset before anyone else can claim it…"

Yes, Carl mused as Katie babbled on about nonsensical things while forcibly pulling him to an unknown location for their "romantic picnic", Katie was pushy, stubborn, and hotheaded, and every bit an absolutely oddity of a girl… and yes, the two of them were almost opposites: her, loud and confident, and him, shy and quiet, but Carl supposed that was one of the reasons they got on so well; Katie was everything he wasn't, and Carl was everything Katie wouldn't be, and so in an odd sort of way, they were like two jigsaw pieces, and they simply _fit _together, and filled up the others empty space. Carl wasn't a romantic, and usually found such romantic metaphors to be rather silly, but in this case, there was no other way he could _describe _how, and why he felt the way he did about Katie…

…"but then again," Carl thought to himself as Katie blew up angrily in his face upon discovering that he hadn't been listening to her, "maybe I don't need a reason. All I need to know… is that I _do_."

Carl knew there would be good times, and bad, and that sometimes their personalities would clash, and that they would argue, and even though Carl wasn't sure how everything would turn out in the end… he had a feeling that everything would be o.k. Carl laughed; after all, if so many good things could happen, and if he could fall for such a crazy woman in only two years, he was sure that in the next few years, things could only get better. He could only wonder what would transpire by _next_ fall… and for some reason, he couldn't wait to find out.

* * *

A/N: As usual, reviews are always loved, and I absolutely _love _getting them, so R&R :) 

-**pyrofreeze**


	5. A Lack of Motivation

_A Lack of Motivation_

Summary: Rock chucked, "I _do _help out sometimes with the inn and all, I just usually… lack the _motivation _to work, you know?"

A/N: Here's a little story that was born on a lazy Sunday afternoon, which yet again pokes fun at Rock.

* * *

"Hey, Rock, what are you doing just sitting there?" 

Rock turned his head just slightly, and spied Jack's friendly face out of the corner of his eye and shrugged.

"Don't you have anything to do?" the farmer questioned again, "Anything at all?"

Rock closed his eyes and snuggled back into the tree he was lying under in front of the inn and smiled contentedly. "There isn't anything that I _have _to do in the world. All that I _need _to do is lie here and catch some rays…"

Jack frowned and then sighed as he plopped himself down next to the blonde-haired boy, "Sometimes I wish I had it like you." he told him, gazing up at the sky. "Farming is hard work, and a year-round gig; I have crops to take care of in spring, summer, and fall, as well as animals to take care of year-round, and mining that I have to do in the winter time to keep food on the table; I work all the time, and you get to relax and take it easy." Jack paused and looked at Rock curiously, "While the whole 'relaxation' thing is nice, doesn't it get old?" he asked, "don't you ever want to _do _anything just to shake things up?"

Rock shrugged, "No, not really," then he smiled, "and besides, I'm not _always_ lazing about."

"Really?!" Jack asked, truly surprised, "I mean… I only ever see you doing…well… _nothing_!"

Rock chucked, "I _do _help out sometimes with the inn and all, I just usually… lack the _motivation _to work, you know?"

"So, you just help out when you _feel _like it?"

Rock laughed nervously, "Not _exactly_…"

Just then, a loud, rather irritated voice cried out form the inn at them, causing both boys to jump.

"Rock! You trashed the kitchen _again_! If you don't get in here and clean up _right this minute_…!"

Rock looked horribly frightened at this point, and jumped to his feet at once. "I think I fancy having a bit of a run right now; want to come with me?" Rock asked, chuckling timidly while eyeing the door of the inn with apprehension.

"Oh, so it's _that _sort of motivation?" Jack asked dryly, eyeing Rock with amusement.

"Uh, yeah… so, if you want to come with me, make up your mind quick, because any second my mom will—."

Ruby then cut off Rock's sentence by bursting through the inn's door wielding a frying pan, and looking around wildly for her lazy son.

"Coming?" Rock asked, already running the opposite direction of where Ruby was currently looking in hopes of spotting Rock.

Jack sighed, and then quickly ran after his friend. He shrugged; at least Rock would get his exercise for today…

* * *

A/N: Reviews are my motivation, so be sure to review :) 

**-pyrofreeze**


	6. Marooned

_Marooned_

Summary: Leia washes up on the shore of a strange beach, and fears the worst… and makes the acquaintance of a strange "land-dweller".

A/N: Ah yes, I haven't updated with a new Harvest Moon story since February, (as Gamerzgal pointed out…) and I've been thinking for awhile that it's high time that I wrote some new HM stuff, so, here it is: it isn't much, but…yeah. ' I haven't been really inspired to write anything for Harvest Moon for awhile, but I managed to finish this little story. I hope you guys like it. :)

Oh, and just a warning: this one-shot is a less light hearted then most of my other one-shots here, and is actually supposed to be vaguely serious.

* * *

Leia wasn't a mermaid that was easy to scare: she had grown up in a world where you constantly had to watch out for sharks, and electric eels, and she had spent her entire childhood learning every trick to surviving the world under the sea; so it was easy to say that there wasn't anything under in the deep that could bother her even the slightest. But of course, at the moment, none of the shark-distracting, or fish-hunting skills she had learned over the years could help her with her current situation, and for that reason, she found herself quivering with fear. 

…Because while there was nothing _under_ the sea that she feared, everything _above _it was new, and frightening.

Leia flapped her tail helplessly, but it wasn't any use; she'd never been on land before, and she hadn't the faintest idea how in the world she could move herself when surrounded by sand, and not miles of blue clear water. Panicking, she flapped her tail hard, and more frantically, in hopes that _something _would happen; but all that did was cause the sand around her to go flying in the air, causing her to cough, and choke on the sandy air.

For a moment, Leia paused in her frantic flopping, and sat on the beach coughing. But once her coughing subsided, panic settled in again, and she barely restrained herself from continuing her panic-induced flopping once more. Her breathing was heavy, and labored, but not from her desperate attempt to move: but from fear. She was lucky that mermaids could breath both in the water, and on land, or else she would have suffocated long ago, but it was not the lack of water that she feared. What she feared was the fact that she was marooned on a strange beach in a place she had never been to, or seen before, unable to move, and not knowing what would happen to her.

Would she lie there until her mother found her? Would her mother _ever _find her? Of would someone else be the one to come upon her in this helpless state? Or would she never be found at all? Would she lie there until starvation took her? Or would a tide come in, and save her from the fate of dying on that beach?

Panic settled in again, and her tail flapped wildly against the sand once again.

"_I don't want to die_." She whispered frantically, "_I don't want to be eaten, or caught by a land dweller, or—!" _

"Hello? Is someone there?" Leia froze in her frenzied flailing, and stared up the beach in horror: _a land dweller_.

Leia had heard stories about land dwellers from some of the other mermaids. Land dwellers were strange, vicious creatures with odd habits and rituals (or so she had been told). "If you ever run into a land dweller," her older friend, Forella, had told her, "swim away as fast as you can, because if they catch you…." Her friend had let the sentence trail off, but the point had been made, and Leia found herself thrashing more furiously then before.

"O-oh my."

Leia froze; he'd found her! She closed her eyes and covered her face with her arms, bracing herself for the worst….

…Only to feel a pair of hands lift her carefully up off the beach. Shocked, Leia opened her eyes, and looked up at the land dweller curiously. The man was certainly no looker by any means, and he was sort of scraggly, and at a first glance, his appearance might have scared her, but…

…his smile was kind, warm, and inviting, and Leia found herself unable to think that a man—even a land dweller—with a smile such as his would, or could possibly hurt her.

"Hello there." The man greeted, his tone strangely soft, despite his voice's obvious gruff undertones, "What are you doing here?"

"I-I…washed up on shore," she admitted, shivering slightly, unused to the temperature of the above-water world, "I couldn't move, and I didn't know what to do…"

"I'm not surprised," the man told her, "I don't think you'll be able to move around even in the water with _that_ tail."

"What?" Leia looked down, and was surprised to see red blood streaking her tail and torso; in her panic, she hadn't noticed the pain, or the injuries when she had washed up on shore… and her thrashing had probably only aggravated the wounds even more. "_OH_… oh dear, how am I going to swim with this tail?" she asked sadly, her hands clenching in fright, "What am I to do…?"

"I can patch you up if you want." The man offered unexpectedly, "I can't just put you back out to sea looking like _that_. I have a rather large bathtub in my basement that could accommodate you while you get better."

Leia stared at him in shock. "Y-you'd do that for me?"

The man blushed, "Ah, well… It's the right thing to do, isn't it?" Leia continued to stare. "Well, do you want to stay with me until you're better or not?"

Realizing that her staring, and unresponsiveness was probably coming across as rude, Leia stuttered out her reply quickly, "W-well yes, I-I'd like that very much… but… why are you being so nice? I've always heard that land dwellers are cruel…"

The man shrugged, "Some of us are I suppose… but not all of us. And everyone in this little town is pretty nice, so you probably picked one of the best places in the world to be a marooned." Walking carefully, as to not aggravate her injuries more, Daryll made his way up off the beach to where the sand ended, and green grass began. "Oh, and I'm Daryll by the way." He added as an afterthought, "Forget-Me-Not Valley's very own brilliant scientist." He told her in a matter-of fact way, holding his head up in pride, "Hopefully you'll find the tub to be accommodating."

Leia giggled at this introduction, and merely smiled up at Daryll. "I'm Leia." She replied, "And I'm sure your bath tub will be just fine."

As way of reply, Daryll merely gave Leia one of his rare smiles. And at that moment, they both knew that it was the beginning of what would be a good, but unusual friendship.

* * *

A/N: I've always loved Daryll… even if he _can _be a bit weird at times. If Daryll was a marriageable bachelor in the games, I would have married him over all the other guys, hands down. It seems as though I always fall in love with the fascinating, but mostly undeveloped characters of Harvest Moon, like Daryll, Dr. Hardy, Cody, and other interesting, but highly underappreciated characters… 

Also, I'm opening myself up to requests: If you have some sort of short Harvest Moon one-shot you want written, put a request in your review. I'll probably only take the first couple of requests (not that I'm expecting an overwhelming pool of requests to be coming in…). It could be a small prompt, or whatever you want. I have a few half-written Harvest Moon one-shots stored on my computer, but I haven't the inspiration to finish them… so fresh ideas are welcome.


	7. The Way To a Man’s Heart

_The Way To a Man's Heart_

Summary: In which Muffy falls for "the cute new farmer", and employs the help of said farmer's best friend to nab a date with the guy...but of course, things don't go according to plan...

Pairings: Muffy x Rock, one-sided Muffy x Jack, and a little bit of Nami x Jack on the side.

A/N: I honestly can't believe that I'm updating so quickly after publishing the last story...but that's a good thing I guess...

This one-shot was a request from _The Scarlet Sky_. I hope you like it. :D I haven't written many stories that focused solely on romance, so I hope you'll forgive me.

* * *

The entire town was abuzz with the news: Forget-Me-Not Valley had a new resident. That in itself was a rare occurrence, but the fact that the new guy was also apparently the grandson of the old farmer that had been working on the town's northernmost farm with Takakura before he had passed away, seemed to give everyone even more reason to gossip. 

And word on the street was that the new farmer was cute; that was certainly a bonus. Or at least it was in Muffy's eyes. Goodness knows the town could _use _some more cute boys to flirt with.

And so she waited patiently for the cute new farmer to show his face in the Blue Bar, but to her disappointment, a week passed, and all she saw was the same old usual customers. Muffy was almost about to resort to marching up to the new guy's door and knocking, just to catch a glimpse of him, but at long last, he showed up.

"Hey, Muffy, can you hook me up with two of the finest drinks in the house?"

Muffy turned away from Gustafa, who had been ordering a Bodiaid, to face Rock, the innkeeper's son, who was grinning at her expectantly.

"Two, Rock?" she asked with a flirtatious smile, "Are you in a rush to get drunk tonight?"

"Oh, har har Muffy," he replied, his smile never fading, "But seriously, I'm only having one… for now anyway. The other one's for Jack. He's been busy the past week with the farm, and he hasn't yet tasted the dream that is the Blue Bar's Morning Mist."

It took only a few seconds for Muffy's mind to connect the name "Jack", to "the new farmer", and once she _did _make the connection, she nearly dropped the Bodiaid she was preparing for Gustafa.

"J-Jack?" she asked, "Is he the new farmer I've been hearing so much about?"

"That I am." Came a shy reply from just behind Rock, and for the first time, Muffy took notice of the boy that stood in Rock's shadow; and boy, he really _was_ a cutie.

"So Jack," she hummed, making small talk, "How do you like Forget-Me-Not so far?"

"Oh, it's very nice." Jack told her with a kind smile, "Everyone's been really nice and accommodating—it's nothing like the city."

"Yes, well, the city is a whole different world." Muffy giggled, "Say, have you met—?" And so as the evening had progressed, Muffy found herself more and more impressed with the new farmer. He was just the sort of guy a girl would want to settle down with: calm, down to earth, sweet, shy, and a _hard worker_ (you didn't get many of those), and not to mention that he was absolutely _adorable_. After spending the entire evening making conversation with the quiet Jack, and after having extracted a promise to visit again soon from the new farmer, Muffy decided that she was going to make it her goal to nab the new guy for herself.

The only question was as to _how_ she would go about doing that. After several weeks, it became rather obvious to Muffy that Jack wasn't much of a drinker, and that he perhaps was _too_ hard of worker; and so while Jack—like the gentleman he was— kept his promise to visit her at the Blue Bar, he did so rarely, and his visits were always short. But after several of these short little visits, Muffy noticed something: Jack never came to the Blue Bar without Rock in tow… or perhaps it was that Rock dragged _Jack_ along with him, but either way, the two seemed to have become rather good friends, and she had seen Jack enter the inn on many occasions, presumably to visit Rock…

…and it was then that the beginnings of a plan began to form in Muffy's mind.

* * *

_Knock, Knock_. 

Rock lifted his head ever so slightly off of his pillow to tiredly look towards the door to his room. He then glanced at the clock, which mockingly read only 10:00, which was _far_ to early to be up. Grumbling, Rock rolled over, and tried to settle, and get back to sleep so he could wake up at a more reasonable hour of the morning.

_Knock, Knock._

Rock rolled over again, and glared at the door in an angry, albeit confused manner. "_Who would be trying to wake me up at THIS hour?_" he wondered, "_Mum gave up trying to wake me up early years ago, it would never _occur _to Nami to wake me up, and Jack should be doing farm work at this hour, so who…?_"

_KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK_.

"Fine, fine, I'm coming!" he grumbled, just wanting to end the annoyance that was disturbing his sleep, "Now see here—Muffy?!" Rock froze in surprise when upon opening the door, he found himself facing the Blue Bar's very own flirtatious barmaid. "What are _you_ doing here?" he asked, the beginnings of a blush working their way across his cheeks when he realized that he was standing in his PJ's in front of one of the cutest girls in town.

Muffy, who had been wearing an annoyed expression when he opened the door, now was smiling, and giving him a rather amused look.

"_Pink_ Pajama's Rock?" she asked, biting her lip, and just barely containing her mirth, "Well… I suppose they _do _look rather nice on you…"

Rock's face felt like it was on fire, and if he were to look in a mirror, he was sure that he'd find that his face had turned a shade of pink that rivaled the color of his sleepwear. And apparently his embarrassment _amused_ Muffy, seeing as only a seconds after concluding that yes, it would be a miracle if his face _weren't _red, the barmaid burst into a fit of laugher.

"Once you stop _laughing_," Rock growled, trying to look daunting, but failing (probably due to the fact that he was blushing, AND wearing pink pajamas), "Would you mind telling me _what_ you're doing here, and _why_ you woke me up?"

"W-Well," Muffy giggled, starting to regain her ability to speak, "Y-you're, (_giggle_) friends with Jack, right?"

"Yeah…?" Rock replied, honestly having no clue as to where the conversation was going, "So what?"

"SO," Muffy drawled, "I want you to help me nab him."

Rock looked as though Muffy had just told him that Daryll had just been elected town Mayor, and had declared Monday's to be "weekly cow day". "You want me to do _what_?"

"Nab him." Muffy replied calmly, "Seduce him, catch his eye, get a date with him, whatever you want to call it; I want him to notice me, and since I don't know how to do that, and since _you're_ the best friend…"

"Hold up!" Rock exclaimed, "You want me to help you date _Jack_? What makes you so sure that _I'd _help _you_?"

Muffy merely smiled innocently at him. "Well, when I knocked on your door, I was originally going to depend on you to have enough sense to help a woman in need, but _now_." Rock's eyes widened in fear as Muffy's smile turned to a rather malicious smirk, "I wouldn't be surprised if everyone _somehow_ got word that a certain blonde haired boy who lives at the inn has pajamas that are rather… _feminine _in color. Why, I imagine if Patrick and Kassey got word of _that _bit of gossip, that they'd _make sure_ that said blonde would _never_ live it down."

Rock stared at Muffy and gulped; she had him right where she wanted him and she _knew _it. "…Fine. I'll do it."

Muffy's scary expression disappeared at once, and was replaced by her usual flirtatious smile. "Oh _thank you_ Rock, you're such a angel!"

Rock sighed, and returned the smile hesitantly, wondering _what in the world _he was getting himself into.

* * *

A week into Muffy's operation "get a Jack to notice me", the barmaid had learned several very important things about Forget-Me-Not's newest farmer: one, that Jack _always _seemed to be working on his farm, and when he wasn't, he was at the inn, and two, that Jack was very, very dense—and not the normal kind of dense either; he was _really _dense, and it was driving Muffy crazy. He was oblivious to her flirting, and all the hints she was dropping, and he seemed to be honestly unaware of her efforts to gain his attention, despite the fact that she had given up subtlety several days into her "operation", at Rock's suggestion. 

"What does it take to get him to understand that I _like _him?" Muffy asked, burying her head in her arms at a table in the kitchen at the back of the inn, "I've tried _everything_, but he's just so _dense_…"

"Uh, well…" Rock ventured, sitting across the table from her nervously, "I'm sorry that what you've tried so far hasn't worked, but perhaps trying a different approach…?"

"Like what?" Muffy asked, eyeing Rock in a scrutinizing manner.

"Well, you know what they say…" Rock told her with a shrug, "'_The way to a man's heart is through his stomach_.'"

Rock looked rather pleased with what he thought was a brilliant idea; Muffy however, just looked up at him incredulously. "_WHAT_?"

Rock however, wasn't dissuaded by Muffy's unbelieving tone, and continued to smile. "If theirs something that men like more than alcohol and woman, it's _food_." He told her smartly, "If you make him his favorite dish, you'll be _sure _to get into his good graces."

Muffy blinked at Rock, "…But I don't know what he likes; that, and while I don't burn _everything_ I make, I'm not exactly a top notch chief either."

"No worries!" Rock told her, "being the great Ruby's son does have _some_ benefits." He told her, rummaging through some cabinets for cookware.

"Wait… you can _cook_?" Muffy asked, not having expected that of the lazy innkeeper's son.

"Well, _duh_. My mom's the best cook in town! I couldn't have very well lived with mum my entire life and _not_ have picked up a thing or two!" he told her, looking vaguely insulted by her astonishment, "But… I have to admit, I'm not _quite _sure what Jack's favorite type of food is; whenever he comes over, we usually have Rainbow Curry because that's one of _my _favorite dishes, but… well… whenever Nami eats with us, Mom makes Gratin, and he _seems _to like it well enough, so…"

"… so you'll teach me to make the best Gratin in the world so he'll fall helplessly in love with me?" Muffy asked, looking excited.

"Eh… well, I'll try."

Muffy smiled then at Rock, and suddenly hugged the boy firmly, "Oh thank you so much for helping me Rock!" she exclaimed, "I don't know what I would've done without your help!"

And for one of the first times since Muffy had met Rock, Rock was speechless, and merely pulled himself out of her embrace, and turned so his back was facing her while he looking for the ingredients needed to make Gratin. And Muffy was so busy imagining the look on Jack's face when he saw her Gratin that she failed to notice the blush adorning Rock's tanned cheeks.

* * *

"Oh dear! I burned it again!" 

Rock felt as though he wanted to tear out all of his hair in frustration: Muffy hadn't been lying when she had said that she wasn't a "top notch chief". In fact, she was a rather lousy cook, as proved by the fact that she had burned all 7 of her attempts to make Gratin so far.

"Look, Muffy," he hedged, "It really isn't _that _hard. It's just _five _ingredients. This time, be sure to _watch_ it while it's in the oven so it doesn't burn, o.k.?"

Muffy nodded sadly, and sighed as she went to work on the Gratin once more. And out of the corner of his eye, Rock watched her measure out the needed amount of milk before pouring it a bowl.

A part of him really wished that Jack weren't so dense, since it obviously was hurting Muffy, but… another part of him felt almost _glad_ for some reason.

"_Well it's obvious isn't it?_" some part of his sub-conscious told him, "_She's the prettiest girl in town! Surely such beauty would be wasted on _Jack_ who would never really appreciate her the way she _deserves." But he immediately shook his head at this thought, and berated himself mentally for thinking such things. So _what_ if she was the prettiest girl in town? _Everyone _knew that Nami, Celia, and Lumina couldn't compare to Muffy, and admitting that to himself—even silently—meant nothing; he was just being realistic. "_Just because I know she's beautiful, and because I want to see her happy…It doesn't mean anything!_"

"Oh my!"

Rock was shaken out of his musings by the smell of smoke. Immediately Rock rushed to the oven, and pulled out the burning Gratin; acting fast, he put it in the sink, and turned on the water to put out the little fire that had been flickering on the surface of the now blackened meal.

"O.k., look…" he told her, "_I'll _make the Gratin, and you can bring it to Jack. He should be done working around now, so you'll be able to bring it to him at his farmhouse… and I'll teach you to make Gratin for real some other time, o.k.?"

Muffy stared up wordlessly at him for a moment, before giving him a brilliant smile and a nod.

Flushing, Rock set to work on making the best Gratin he had ever made, while Muffy praised him a thousand times over for "being so sweet", and "such an angel."

In the end, she gave him a little squeeze when he gave her the finished Gratin; she smiled at him sweetly said "thank you" over her shoulder before disappearing through the kitchen door, leaving Rock blushing, and feeling as though a thousand butterflies had taken flight in his stomach. And suddenly Rock found himself wondering why he felt as though he had done something very, very stupid, and as if he had lost his chance.

"_But the chance for _what_ exactly_?" he wondered, "_Well, it's done now; he'll love the Gratin, and they'll fall in love, and then she'll be happy, and that's what's important, right?" _

"Right?" He asked, looking around expectantly, as if he were waiting for an answer, "That was the right thing to do, right? But… why do I feel as though that was the wrong thing to do?" Rock sighed; there was no use thinking about why all of this felt _wrong_; what's done was done, and now there was no turning back.

* * *

"Oh Jack!" 

Muffy, oblivious to the internal conflict Rock was going through at that very instant, skipped all the way to Jack's farm. Feeling very much as though she could fly, Muffy knocked lightly on Jack's door, and hummed happily while she waited for the farmer to answer.

"Muffy?" he asked, looking adorably confused, "What brings you here?"

Muffy held up the dish of Gratin, "I made something for you." She told him proudly, "It's Gratin."

"Oh!" Jack looked delighted at this, "It looks wonderful; thank you Muffy! Won't you come in?" He asked, opening the door to allow her passage, "Well, Nami and I were just thinking about going to the inn, and getting Ruby to cook something, but since you've come bearing Gratin, we won't need to make the trip."

Muffy's mind froze. "_Wait a second… Nami?_ _What does she have to do with any of this?_" Upon entering Jack's house, however, she found her question answered at once. Sitting at Jack's table, looking as sulky and brooding as ever, was the tomboy Nami.

"Hey Nami! Look what Muffy brought up!" he told Nami excitedly, "Gratin! We'll just have to eat it while it's still nice and warm; won't you join us Muffy?" Jack looked up at Muffy kindly, and pleadingly, and Muffy knew that a week or so ago she would have _killed_ to be invited in his house, or to have him smile that smile at her…but Muffy knew that he was just being polite inviting her to stay; the smile wasn't hers, and she found herself feeling like an intruder standing in his doorway. That smile… somehow, she knew that it belonged to _Nami_, and not her. A piece of Jack's heat belonged to Nami—not her; _never_ her.

"_I always was surprised how much time he spent at the inn_." Muffy mused, feeling strangely numb, "_Apparently he didn't just go to see Rock…_"

"N-No; you two go ahead and eat it without me." She told him, struggling to keep her voice steady, "I-I should be getting back to the Bar anyway…"

"Oh." Jack looked confused, but didn't question her. "Well… thank you very much Muffy. I'll be sure to come down to the Blue Bar sometime soon, o.k.?"

"Y-Yeah…" she murmured, barely restringing herself from running all the way back once she was out the door.

"Hey Muffy, how'd it—Muffy?"

Muffy looked up: Rock.

"Why the long face? He asked, what happened—?"

"I was so stupid." Muffy whispered, cutting off Rock's question, "I was so stupid to think that someone like him could like someone like _me_. He never noticed me, because he only had eyes for _Nami_." Rock looked startled by this, but Muffy didn't stop, and plowed on, "I'm sorry for dragging you into this Rock, I really am. I… I'm just going to go back to my room now, and forget that any of this ever happened." And then Muffy couldn't contain herself any more: she suddenly broke into a run towards the Blue Bar, ignoring Rock's exclamation of "Wait!" as she slammed the door to the Blue Bar in his face, and ran up the stairs to her room.

* * *

Muffy wasn't working at the Blue Bar that evening, and when Rock inquired about her, Griffin told him that she insisted that she wouldn't see anyone for the rest of the evening…. 

…which was why Rock found himself awake, and knocking on the door to the Blue Bar at 6 o' clock in the morning.

"Rock?" Griffin enquired sleepily, opening the door, "What are _you_ doing awake so early?"

"You said that Muffy wouldn't let anyone see her for the rest of the _evening_." He informed him. "It's morning now, so can I see her?"

Griffin hesitated, but finally opened the door so that Rock could get in. "You can _try_, but I won't guarantee that she'll let you in."

"Thank you." And with that, Rock marched past Griffin, and scaled the stairs that lead to Muffy's room.

* * *

_Knock, Knock_. 

Muffy lifted her head from where it had been resting on her desk and sighed. "I'm not coming out Griffin." She grounded out, "So go away."

The person behind the door seemed to hesitant before speaking up. "Well, if you won't come out, can I come in?"

Muffy's eyes widened in surprise, and she rushed to the door. "_Rock?!_" Rock grinned sheepishly and nodded. "What are you doing up at this hour?"

"Making sure you're alright." He told her, looking strangely serious for once, "Can I come in?"

"O-of course." Muffy moved aside, and Rock strode into her room, and spoke again once she had closed the door.

"So Nami and Jack are an item?"

"It seems so." Muffy agreed sadly, "I don't think I ever had a chance."

Rock said nothing for a moment, as if gathering his thoughts, but then at last, he spoke slowly, as if thinking very hard about what he was about to say. "Well… I think… that if he's stupid enough to pass up a chance with you… that… perhaps… you don't deserve him; you deserve better. You deserve a guy that'll appreciate you without you trying so hard to get his attention." He told her, "So… don't worry about it. There are plenty of other guys out there that would kill to have a date with you."

Muffy smiled sadly. "If that's true, I'm afraid I haven't met a single one of them; people always tell me that I'm beautiful, but no one in the world seems to want to actually _be_ with me. I'll have to face it sometime; I'm just the sort of girl that guys like to _look _at, but not the kind of girl anyone wants to _be_ with…"

"That's not true!" Rock exclaimed, his eyes glinting in a way Muffy had never seen before, "You're a wonderful girl Muffy, and anyone would be _crazy _to not want to be with you!"

"Don't say things just to try and cheer me up Rock—" Muffy began, but Rock cut her off.

"I'm _not _just saying things Muffy! I mean… well… If it had been _me _you had been trying to nab these past few weeks, and not Jack, I would have asked you out in a heartbeat!" Rock looked determined throughout his declaration, but once he was finished, and realized what it was that he had just admitted, his face turned a rather brilliant shade of scarlet.

"I-I have to go now." He stuttered out, turning redder by the minute and fleeing the room before Muffy could even get in a word edgewise, leaving the girl to stare blankly at the space Rock had occupied only moments before.

"_Is Rock for real_?" she wondered, "_Is he serious? And… how could I not have noticed?_" Slowly, shakily, Muffy rose to her feet, and gazed out the window, where she saw Rock's silhouette in the morning light dash towards the inn. All along, she had been so focused on hooking up with Jack, the so called "perfect" husband, that she hadn't noticed that perhaps, there was a guy that was just as good right there in front of her.

Rock wasn't exactly the definition of the ideal guy, but… even though he was far too lazy, and a bit of a bum sometimes, Rock was sweet too, as well as kind and gentle… and he actually _was _pretty cute, and could _cook _which was a plus in her book.

"_And speaking of cooking_," she mused, "_I think I have a plan to make up for being as oblivious to his affection as Jack was to mine…_"

* * *

_Knock, Knock_. 

Rock sighed, and gazed at the door in annoyance; it was probably his mother knocking, since it was not only _later_ then he usually got up, but almost _night_, and he _still _hadn't left the room once… well, not since he had gotten back from accidentally admitting that he rather liked the idea of dating Muffy to said girl's face. If he just ignored it, Rock was sure that the knocking would cease eventually…

_KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK._

…but of course, Rock had seemed to be wrong about a lot of things recently, so why not this too?

"I'm coming, I'm coming…" he muttered, "Now mom, I don't want to—Muffy?" On reflex, he tried to close the door, but it was too late; Muffy had put her foot in the door to prevent that, and actually had shoved him aside, and forced herself into the room.

"What are you _doing _here?" he asked weakly, "And…" he sniffed the air, and gazed down at the object in her hands in confusion, "what _is_ that?" he asked, "Is that…Rainbow Curry?"

Muffy blushed, "Ah, yes, it is; It isn't exactly perfect, but… I managed not to turn it into charcoal, so I _think_ it's edible"

Rock stared down at the Rainbow Curry in confusion, "And… why are you bringing me Rainbow Curry?" he asked, the butterflies he had only just managed to silence fluttering in his stomach once more.

"I-I thought the reason would be obvious." Muffy told him, a small, shy smile appearing on her face. "After all you _were _the one that said that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach."

Rock blinked at her in surprise for a few moments before smiling, and taking the curry from her outstretched hands. "That I did," he whispered, "Would you… would you like to stay and eat it with me? We should eat it while it's warm; It looks, erm… very nice, and it would be a shame not to eat it while it's still hot."

Muffy sat down on Rock's bed next to where he had laid the curry and returned his smile. "I'd like that." She told him, "I'd like that very much.

And at that moment, Muffy couldn't think of anything more romantic then sitting beside a pink pajama clad Rock in his room eating badly made curry; and somehow, even though most of the curry was burnt, Rock found himself thinking that Muffy's Rainbow Curry was one the most wonderful things he had ever tasted.

* * *

A/N: I love Rock; but I also love picking on Rock. XD I really need to give the guy a break once in a while… And I also rather like Muffy too. At a first glance in the game I immediately thought "great; she's one of those typical "flirty" girls that that only giggle and act stupid". But after befriending her… I get the impression that she's not really just some flirt, but… that's she's really just a nice person, and a lonely person. I had fun with this one-shot, and for some strange reason, the story sort of fleshed itself out naturally in my head without causing me a headache And wow, this story ended up being _long_. I just started writing, and… _kept_ writing. And it ended up so...so... _fluffy_. 0.o 

Oh, I'm also still open/allowing requests. :D

Reviews are loved, and have a tendency to inspire me to write more. ;)

Till next time!

**-pyrofreeze**


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